1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container and, more particularly, to a container which has particular utility in housing discrete, but interoperable, work objects through a series of stages of use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The packaging of products in dependent upon a host of interrelated and rather complex considerations. For any given product, the only essential requirement for packaging is that some means be provided for individually pricing and transporting each product in the stream of commerce. Depending upon the nature of the product, the products may be handled in bulk, or may require individual packaging in some fashion.
Beyond this essential consideration, are a host of considerations which bear upon the final decision made as to packaging. One such consideration is whether or not the product requires protection or preservation in some form. Another consideration is how far the packaging is to be employed in the stream of commerce to the ultimate consumer. Another consideration is insuring that a multiplicity of such products so packaged can be shipped and stored in bulk. Additional considerations relate to the later stages in the stream of commerce including how the packaged product can be displayed in retail outlets for examination by the potential purchasers. Related to this is the matter of how the purchaser can transport the product to its ultimate destination for use. Still further, in the case of products which may not be fully consumed by the purchaser at one time, there is the matter of whether or not the packaging can be employed to house the remaining product until further consumption is desired. Related to this is the manner in which the packaging may assist in the use of the product by the purchaser. Finally, and in many instances of paramount importance, there is the question of the cost of the packaging. This, of course, bears upon the pricing of the product in the marketplace and upon the profit margin which may be maintained at both the wholesale and retail levels of the marketplace.
The foregoing considerations are rendered considerably more complex where the product to be packaged is composed of a plurality of discrete, but interoperable, elements which are to be sold as a unit and, therefore, must be packaged as a unit. Products of this type are typically those which require some assembly by the ultimate consumer and frequently include a multiplicity of very small and easily lost elements. Packaging for such products most commonly consists simply of a sealed bag or box housing all of the elements in no particular order. Evaluation of packaging of these types against any of the foregoing considerations reveals the disadvantages associated with the use of such packaging.
Furthermore, in the case of such products consisting of a multiplicity of such individual elements, these problems are further compounded where the nature of the product is such that control over one or more of the individual elements during use is required for a satisfactory result to be achieved. For example, products such as irrigation conduit and fittings such are employed in drip irrigation present all of the foregoing problems including the fact that the irrigation tubing must be dispensed is controlled lengths and may well not all be used at any one time. With such products which are not consumed at any one time, there typically is no satisfactory way of continuing to house the remaining, unused elements of the product until use is again required. Prior art packaging for such products typically has involved only sale of the product in bulk, in which case, there is no packaging other than perhaps the sack in which the retail operator deposited the product at the time of sale, or a container such as a sealed plastic bag which is characteristically rendered unsuitable for further use when it is opened. In any case, conventionally there is no satisfactory packaging which can reliably be employed to continue to house the elements composing the product which are not consumed in the first instance of usage.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a container operable to house a product through the entire stream of commerce from packaging at the time of manufacture through to usage by the ultimate consumer; which can house discrete interoperable elements comprising a single product to be packaged; and which can be employed to assist in usage of those elements of the product through an infinite number of individual instances of usage until the product is entirely consumed.